Lassen County was rather fortunate that it was not hit as hard as other places throughout the nation during the great depression of the 1930s. Yes, times were tough, but then again there were no Hoovervilles either. While the majority of the lumber mills on the West Coast closed, Lassen’s three mills-Fruit Growers Supply Company, Lassen Lumber & Box Company and the Red River Lumber Company remained open, though operations were curtailed. Those company executives understood the value of their employees. Sooner or later the economy would rebound, and they did the best they could under the circumstances to retain their skilled employees, rather than having to start all over again to re-train new ones at a critical time.

In Big Valley it was boom times. They were at the center of one of the last major railroad construction projects in the country. This was the Northern California Extension wherein the the Western Pacific extended its line north from Keddie to Bieber, to meet with the Great Northern who built their line south from Klamath Falls, Oregon. This opened a whole new rail corridor completed in 1931. In the future, I will do a piece on the Golden Spike Ceremony at Bieber.

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